The City of Pärnu initiated a detailed plan of the Audru e-fuel plant

Pärnu City Government has initiated a detailed plan for the construction of an e-fuel production facility planned for Audru. The plant being developed by Utilitas Wind will produce hydrogen in the electrolysis process and synthesize it into e-fuels, such as e-methanol, e-methane or aviation fuel.

“E-fuels provide a solution primarily in those sectors where replacing fossil fuels with electricity is not realistic, such as aviation, maritime transport and the chemical industry,” explained Jüri-Mikk Udam, Development Manager of Hydrogen Solutions at Utilitas Wind. “Exporting e-fuels would help strengthen Estonia’s competitiveness, while also enabling us to create greater value from locally produced renewable electricity.”

The planned facility will use an electrolysis process that produces hydrogen from renewable energy, will then be synthesized into high-value e-fuels, i.e. fuels produced from electricity. The project’s maximum planned production capacity is up to 300 MW, enabling the annual production of up to 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and up to 160,000 tonnes of e-fuels. The exact technological solutions and fuel portfolio will be determined during the planning and assessment process.

Hydrogen industry is an industry with a long history, where hydrogen is still produced mainly from natural gas. Over the years, it has developed into a large-scale industry with an annual volume of 100 million tonnes, covering dozens of production units in Europe alone. Today, the sector has a market volume of tens of billions of euros, with hydrogen widely used in the chemical, fertilizer, and refining industries. Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water is still in the development stage, but similar plants have already been built, for example, in Denmark, Finland and Norway. Their output is used by international companies including Maersk, LEGO, and Novo Nordisk. “This demonstrates that e-fuels are a viable and rapidly developing industry with real demand on international markets,” said Udam.

The investment will also support local economic development. “The implementation of the project would create hundreds of jobs during the construction period and 20–40 permanent high-skilled jobs during the operation of the plant,” he added. “This would also have a positive impact on the service sector in Pärnu County.”

According to the current comprehensive plan of Audru, the planning area is located in the production area, and the Pärnu county plan also provides for a business and production area in the area. Audru is also located at a logistics hub in the vicinity of both Rail Baltica and Via Baltica. The completion of the plant is planned for the early 2030s, which is why the investment plans do not directly take into account the hydrogen corridor planned by Elering and other parties, although the infrastructure would offer additional opportunities when completed.

“The detailed plan is the first step that enables the further development of the production facility. We have also maintained regular communication with the local community, sharing information and receiving feedback on how we can jointly contribute to improving the living environment if the production facility is built,” said Udam.

In parallel with the preparation of the detailed plan, an environmental impact assessment (SEA) will be carried out, within the framework of which the possible environmental impacts of the production unit will be determined. The schedule for the preparation of the detailed plan, the holding of public discussions and additional information will be published in the official channels of the City of Pärnu.